1. Prisons Belgrade Central Prison 166. A Committee member with medical expertise examined the medical records of 70 pre-trial detainees who were under the jurisdiction of the Belgrade District Court. Fifty-five of them contained no indications of ill-treatment or physical violence by the police. In the remaining 15 records (representing 21 per cent), it was noted that the detainees had alleged having been beaten by the police. In six of them (representing approximately 9 per cent of the total number of records examined) marks had been found and were described by the examining doctor. Furthermore, the prison doctor told the members that approximately one third of the prisoners bore lesions upon their arrival, though the lesions were not necessarily due to ill-treatment by the police. Where the prisoners (about 10 per cent of them) alleged having been beaten by the police, the lesions were generally light, such as bruises. The allegations made by the prisoners were always reflected in their medical records. The doctor also indicated that there were no cases of inmates being beaten by the prison guards, although such cases had been frequent in the past. 167. The Committee members also interviewed 21 pre-trial detainees, some of whom were selected on the basis of the medical records examined. All of them were charged with common crimes. Nine of them reported having been beaten or subjected to other forms of torture by the police in order to obtain confessions. Sremska Mitrovica Prison 168. At Sremska Mitrovica Prison, with over 1,000 inmates the largest in the country, the members were informed that the new management team had introduced important changes. Until the end of 2000, disciplinary measures in reported cases of ill-treatment had not been taken against those found guilty of such abuses. However, the director claimed that all problematic guards had been transferred. Since then, no conflicts between prisoners and staff or incidents of inter-prisoner violence had been observed. The prison doctor confirmed that there had been no acts of torture or ill-treatment in the prison. 169. Five inmates were interviewed in this prison, none of whom reported having been tortured before or during their stay in the prison. Four of them said that the situation had changed completely over the previous two years, since the arrival of the new director and the removal of some of the guards. One inmate, kept in a punishment cell after having tried to escape from prison, did not complain of any ill-treatment by the staff. Pozarevac Penitentiary for females 170. Six inmates were interviewed individually in the closed section. None of them alleged having been tortured or ill-treated by the police or prison guards. In the open and semi-open sections a group of prisoners reported previous cases of ill-treatment. However, they described the current situation as very good. One prisoner reported an incident in which a guard had beaten her on the palm of her hand in anger while she was working in the field. Reportedly, the guard was suspended and disciplinary procedures were ongoing. The prison doctor confirmed that in the previous three years she had not learnt of any case of torture or ill-treatment. 72